8th Place in the Conference

[Sidc3000]

On 11/18/2023 at 11:06 AM, elijah said:

You lost me at Power should be in the minors, it’s a shame because the rest of the post made a lot of sense but there’s no reasonable post in the world that should include that sentence

I think it’s funny how people get so bent when something like this is brought up. How do YOU know what’s best for Power? Maybe going down to the AHL so he learns how to, maybe just maybe, play defense. 

[Weave]

1 hour ago, Sidc3000 said:

I think it’s funny how people get so bent when something like this is brought up. How do YOU know what’s best for Power? Maybe going down to the AHL so he learns how to, maybe just maybe, play defense. 

Check the Amerks thread.  No defense being played there either

[Doohicksie]

So looking at the standings, the Sabres are toward the back of the pack but they're still in the pack.  They are basically a 3-4 game winning streak from a WC spot.  I feel optimistic they have it in them, but I can also see where that might not come to pass.

At this point the fact they're running an 11F/7D lineup some nights tells me that the roster is broken.  If they really think that 7 Dmen should be playing, I would take one of them and put him on the wing.  It might be a really good experience for Owen Power developmentally- get him into an offensive mindset both for eventually moving back and playing D and contributing offensively, and seeing how a forward thinks as plays develop.  Put him on PP2 as the bumper/net front presence.  He's a big boy; it should teach him a thing or two and he might actually be effective in that spot.

[Pimlach]

On 11/15/2023 at 5:57 PM, sabremike said:

There are zero signs right now this team is doing anything but crashing and burning to the bottom of the standings. They have been insanely lucky just to be slightly below .500 as all the numbers and metrics say we are a bottom 5 team in the league right now. The correction is coming (and is likely already under way) leading to a death spiral and the season being over before the new year. I would love to lie to myself and say this won't happen but unfortunately in reality every single sign points to this outcome.

[PerreaultForever]

25 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

So looking at the standings, the Sabres are toward the back of the pack but they're still in the pack. 

Ya, but they're not. They have a .472 win percentage and only 2 teams in the conference are below that. They also have a -14 goal differential and only one team is worse. You don't get anywhere near the playoffs with that. 

Can a win streak change that? Well sure, 3/4 of the season left and if we play the rest of the year like Boston or New York we will ride high into the post season BUT there's nothing about the way this team plays that would make anyone think that's going to happen. They're garbage. 

[bob_sauve28]

35 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

  They're garbage. 

No, this team was the third highest scoring team in league last year. The PP needs to get on track, Cozens, Krebs, Girgs and Okposo need to put up some points or their replacements will be getting ice time soon. 

[PerreaultForever]

1 hour ago, bob_sauve28 said:

No, this team was the third highest scoring team in league last year. The PP needs to get on track, Cozens, Krebs, Girgs and Okposo need to put up some points or their replacements will be getting ice time soon. 

So what? One, that was last year. Two, they're terrible at preventing goals. "soon" is another Sabres mantra and it never occurs. 

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, bob_sauve28 said:

No, this team was the third highest scoring team in league last year. The PP needs to get on track, Cozens, Krebs, Girgs and Okposo need to put up some points or their replacements will be getting ice time soon. 

The PP has been and is broken.  Don't have much faith in this coaching staff to fix it because the same structural problems that it had all of last year (minus a ~6 week window where it was incredible which caused a lot of people (apparently even those working in the MMArena) to believe it was good when it wasn't) are the same ones it has this year.

Cozens, once he gets his face healed and loses the fishbowl, could get back on track.  (Would expect it's more likely than it not happening, but who knows how long it'll take to get rid of the fishbowl.)

The 4th line might be substantially better by making 1 modification, but management isn't going to go for that at this time.  

The biggest thing this team needs right now is getting everybody on board the play hard and relentlessly train.  Never thought this would be said, but the last 3 games Olofsson has been one of the best forwards they've had.  He has 2 goals (both in garbage time), has been going to the dirty areas, has actually battled along the boards, and has actually backchecked.  He doesn't seem to be able to connect on a pass to save his life, but he's playing hard (for him) and playing a simple game.  He's been playing a pretty good road game.  The rest of the team needs to do likewise.  (Excepting Dahlin, Erik Johnson, Peterka, and Benson from that criticism.  They've been playing hard and well in this last little stretch.  Everybody else needs to just be that little bit better.  Would be cool if the others that are playing pretty well could find another gear too; but that's a pretty big ask.)

[sabremike]

This team not only stinks to high heaven but they are one of the most boring and awful to watch on top of it. This is one of the worst regressions you will ever see by a team from one season and every sensible person can see the guy(s) behind the bench have failed spectacularly and need to be replaced or the playoffs will remain a fantasy.

[Rasmus_]

Move Greenway and Olofsson and let the kids play.  Greenway only makes sense for me in Okposo's spot.  Otherwise, meh he's garbage. 

[Thorner]

1 hour ago, seer775 said:

We are God awful. Like, worse than the Leafs.

Dealing Eichel was a nuclear disaster. He earned himself a close-second finish for the Conn Smythe right after he left. Worse yet, he said he would've stayed if he got the surgery.

Regeir started it with Drury/Briere. Lucic on Miller was the swan song. Now we have Pegula, one of THE WORST owners in NHL history.

I take back my initial enthusiasm. The only hope we have is for Pegula to leave the team. 

Why such a quick 180?

[PerreaultForever]

4 hours ago, Thorny said:

Why such a quick 180?

It's getting harder and harder to differentiate between authentic critiques, sarcasm and just plain old trolling. Personally I can't be bothered to try to figure it out, but in this case I suspect it's one of the last two. 

[PerreaultForever]

10 minutes ago, seer775 said:

Did you read what I wrote? 

I wrote what you read too. 

Seriously, how does that question further a debate in any way? 

[Thorner]

Playoff odds for your Buffalo Sabres 

 

 

[PerreaultForever]

47 minutes ago, seer775 said:

Personally I can't be bothered to try to figure it out.

But you could be bothered to tell me that. lol. Troll on. 

[Doohicksie]

On 11/23/2023 at 5:06 PM, Thorny said:

Playoff odds for your Buffalo Sabres 

 

 

 

[CallawaySabres]

It looks like the top 8 has just about settled but I expect NJ to push out Washington eventually. I think our only hope is that Detroit's % on shots vs goals settles down and someday we can win 2 in a row again. 

[mjd1001]

Last nights game took something big out of me.  They played very well at times, but the results....We are hearing too many times from the PLAYERS (not the coaches, but the PLAYERS) things like...we have to do better...there were some positives....stuff like that.

The season is still (kinda) early, and a 3-4 game winning streak makes the standings look a lot better. Teams have 3 - 4 game winning streaks (or more) all the time right?  Well, the Sabres have had ONE TWO game winning streak all year. More than 1/4 way though the season and ONE single time they won back to back, thats it. So, when is that 3-4 game winning streak coming?

You want to get to 95-96 points when things all shake out at the end of the year to have a good chance of making the playoffs.  98 almost guarantees you a wild card.  So, from this point how do they get to 98?  76 points in the next 59 games.  From today on, until the end of the season, they have to play at nearly a 106 "point pace". 

That is almost 65% of available points. Just to get be 'almost' assured of a Wildcard. The rest of the entire season.  From a team that in 2 months has not had a single 3 game win streak and only ONE time has won 2 in a row.

I usually am pretty positive, I tend to look at all the possibilities and lean toward 'they still have a chance and I'm going to enjoy the ride'.  But this morning...Just not feeling it for the first time in a couple years.  Too much "we know we are good enough" or "we have to play better" or "we had some good stretches in there"

Last year they were fun, 3rd in the league in goals. Almost 56% of available points. This year they are 23rd in the league in goals) and they are getting less than 48% points. That is a major step back and a LOT less fun to follow.  There is no talk around the league about an emerging superstar/potential top 5 goals scorer here. No talk of an emerging Norris candidate or a possible Calder candidate.  Nothing.

In 2 months this year, they have turned back into an irrelevant footnote of a franchise that is not any fun, and gets no attention or respect from anyone.  Following a team like that is just about the most non-fun thing to do in sports.

I still don't think a coaching or GM change fixes this quickly.  I'm not out for 'heads to roll'.  I like many of the players on this team and I want them to be successful WITH most of this current roster.

 I  fall back on Pegula being a bad owner right now, and he was an AWFUL owner in the past. Just how much did he screw this up? The tank (not a bad idea but poorly executed). The rushed rebuild. Murry as GM. Bad trades. Gutting the scouting department with the resulting bad drafts. Until recently not much in terms of player development (and maybe even now we give them too much credit for just 'catching up' to the rest of the league and being average). Front office changes left and right. How many coaches? 

You can't fire the owner, and he DID keep the team here, but this has been a dreadful franchise since the day he took ownership of the team.

 It shouldn't be this early in the year where we start thinking like "well, next season will be the year they make the playoffs" because that means we would be 1/3 of the way though Calendar year 2025 before we have a CHANCE at seeing a playoff game with this team in it.  

Edited December 2, 2023 by mjd1001

[zow2]

Hey, at least they have not gone on the annual 8-10 game losing streak.  They managed to sprinkle in some wins in between losses,  I think the worst was a 3 game losing streak in mid-November.  So by virtue of that, the club is hanging around the "in the hunt" teams.

But yeah, the East is a gauntlet and I don't see how the Sabres make the leap to #8 seed.  Defensively they still seem disjointed, goalies are average at best, and the offense has regressed from last season.  It all adds up to no playoffs again.  I was hoping we'd turn in to what the Red Wings are doing, but nope.

[steveoat87]

I think a coaching change is very important, as the players seem too soft and complacent.  A GM change may be needed if Adams can't be persuaded to trade some of his prized prospects for vets who can really help a young team.

[mjd1001]

1 hour ago, steveoat87 said:

I think a coaching change is very important, as the players seem too soft and complacent.  A GM change may be needed if Adams can't be persuaded to trade some of his prized prospects for vets who can really help a young team.

I really don't know what vets you will bring in that will put this team over the top:

-Who are you going to bring in that is a top 6 level guy up front, and who comes out of the current top 6?  if you trade for someone who is not a legit top 6 guy up front (someone who would be the 7th or 8th best forward), I'm not sure that makes much of a difference.

-Same thing with the D.  Dahlin is getting his 25 minutes per game.  Power his 22+ and Samuelsson 20+.  They are all long term locked up and part of your young core.  That leaves less than an average of 14 minutes for the remaining D-men.  Jokiharju is playing pretty decent this year. It LOOKS like the younger Johnson is playing well and may be a legit decent guy by the end of this year and going forward.  So again, who are you going to trade for that will be a player that makes a big improvement on the D-unit? Power isn't playing all that well but you aren't bringing in someone to take minues away from him.

So, again its all well and good to trade for a top 'vet' but who is that going to be and who are they taking minutes from?  

I see 2 problems with this team. #1, the Defense is young.  They are talented, but if you look at the top units around the league, for the MOST part the solid D-units have top guys getting top minutes that are at least 28 years old.  This D will get better but you have no choice to give it time.  Like a couple hundred additional games of experience.

The second problem is the top guys aren't scoring. They went from last year being the 3rd best scoring team in the league to being in the bottom 1/3 this year, a major drop. Who do you trade for that fixes that, and who's spot do they take in the lineup?   And remember, you can trade for a guy who is really good by giving away a top draft pick and 1 or 2 of your top prospects, but you aren't paying much for those 1-2 prospects and that top draft pick. You bring i a guy who is a VET who is really REALLY good its likely he's making decent $$$.  This team is much closer to the cap now than they have been in the past and don't have that much room as they used to, not to mention Mitts, Peterka, Jokiharju, UPL, Ryan Johnson and Quinn all needing new deals in the next 2 years.

 

[Gatorman0519]

Looks like an 80-85 point team. Spinning our wheels in the mud. 

[Brawndo]

[Sidc3000]

24 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

Not surprised. Last season was an anomaly, a one off. This is what the team should have looked like last season. 

[Scottysabres]

6 minutes ago, Sidc3000 said:

Not surprised. Last season was an anomaly, a one off. This is what the team should have looked like last season. 

I disagree, respectfully. They are late season bloomers is all...... 😉